Developers: Google Maps is adding a Go tab to help you quickly navigate to frequently visited places

jeudi 3 décembre 2020

Google Maps is adding a Go tab to help you quickly navigate to frequently visited places

Google Maps has been getting a fair amount of TLC lately, and today is no exception. The mapping app has already gained a pseudo-social layer this week, and now it’s gaining a “Go Tab” too. It solves the long-standing problem of having to manually look up the same route over and over again. Instead, the Go Tab contains details of your frequently-used journeys, so you can plot them again with one-click.

According to Google, the Go Tab is accessed by simply hitting the “Go” disc in the bottom right of the screen, as you would when entering a destination, but leaving the search string empty. Once you’re taken into the list of your previous queries, you’ll find that some have been highlighted for you. With a further click, you can drill down to your wider search history. Once you’ve found the journeys you want to keep handy, you can choose to pin them for future use, or even pin multiple queries for the same route, for example, if you sometimes walk to work, but sometimes use the bus, you can pin both methods of transport to a single destination, making it easy to look up either the route or the timetables and ETAs for mass transit.

The renewed investment in Google Maps has been inspired, at least in part, by the dumpster fire that is 2020. Earlier in the Fall, it added a feature that shows how busy mass transit is likely to be at the time of your journey, helping you to better plan for social distancing. The company has also been using Google Maps in its offline advertising, encouraging users to leave reviews of local businesses as a method of helping them recover from the spate of closures forced by the global pandemic.

The Go Tab is rolling out globally from today. If it’s not working for you, check for updates in the Play Store. If it’s still not working, hang tight, as we all know, these things sometimes take a few weeks to roll out to everyone.